London is UK's online fraud hotspot

London is the UK's capital for online credit card fraud, according to a recent report which maps the UK's card fraud hotspots.

The latest figures from Early Warning for cardholder not present (CNP) fraud show that Greater London had the largest number of fraudulent transactions in the past year, followed by Manchester and Kilmarnock.

Early Warning helps retailers, the police and banks monitor and counter online credit card fraud.

The company produces a map that identifies the postcode areas from which the fraudsters operate by tracking the delivery addresses for fraudulently obtained goods, typically accommodation addresses and 'dead' letter boxes.

Early Warning claims that this is the only reliable method of mapping credit card fraud.

While Greater London as a whole beats the rest of the UK for credit card fraud, the problem is particularly serious in certain postcode areas within London. For example, whole streets in Thamesmead are involved in CNP fraud.

Other concentrations of CNP crime include Romford and Ilford in Essex, and the leafy suburb of Twickenham.

Outside London, CNP fraud is on the increase in Bournemouth, Northampton, Portsmouth and Stockport, all of which look set to make it into the top 10 by next year.

The north of Scotland, Wales (except Cardiff) and the West Country have the lowest incidence of CNP fraud.

Chip and Pin cards have made using stolen credit cards in shops much more difficult, so criminals have turned to online shopping sites instead.

Figures from UK payments service APACS suggest that CNP fraud cost the UK £183.2m last year, up 38 per cent on 2005.

"No single area of the UK is untouched by this problem," said Andrew Goodwill, managing director of Early Warning.